Life:

Makes Statement

Dunphy says Irish international footballer Robbie Brady should have been nominated for RTE sportsperson of the year in McGregor’s place.

Brady has somehow missed out on the RTE scheme. It is hard to figure out. It does look as if this is a mixture of a box-ticking exercise and playing to the gallery. Including McGregor and ignoring Irish footballers – especially Brady – is ludicrous. It is shameful and daft that RTE have ignored him [Brady].

I don’t know how long his contract with UFC is, but they will never let his fighter fight a boxer in a boxing match. I’ve tried that once before, I went to Ari Emanuel…to talk about a fight one time and he said, ‘It will never happen in our lifetime’. If an MMA fighter fights with boxing rules the boxer wins. If you fight with MMA rules, they win. It’s two completely different sports. [McGregor] can punch a little bit, but can he punch as good as Mayweather or Malignaggi? Maybe he can go against a guy that can’t punch that hard…[McGregor] is not an accomplished fighter. Mayweather came to my gym, he said, ‘Freddie, I’m going to fight this guy McGregor’ and he said, ‘If you have a chance to train him, take that job because the fight’s gonna happen and you’ll make a lot of money’. And I said, ‘I would need five years to train him’…Mayweather is one of the best boxers in the world today…I’d love to see [a McGregor-Mayweather fight]. McGregor is fun to watch, he’s a character. I just don’t think he’s in that class of boxing.

FREDDIE ROACH LAUGHS AT CONOR MCGREGOR IN BOXING; REVEALS UFC OWNER ADMITTED IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN

Swanson says McGregor had held up the featherweight division too long.

They should have stripped Conor a long time ago. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I see what they were trying to do with him being a two-division champ, but they should have done that right away. He was the one that called the shot of doing 170. Nate Diaz wanted 155 both times. That was ridiculous. I’m glad we’re moving forward. I was upset that I didn’t get a title shot after six wins in a row, multiple No. 1 contender fights, but this kid (UFC 206 headliner Max Holloway) had like (nine) in a row. I’m glad he’s getting his shot (at the interim belt). I’m glad to see (Anthony Pettis), a 155-pound champ, coming down and fighting him. The winner fights Aldo. I think it’s awesome, and it brings excitement back to the division again.

The UFC has been a mess for a while now. Not only for me, it’s been happening way before that. It embarrassed featherweight and now embarrasses lightweight. Khabib Nurmagomedov signed two contracts to fight for the title and still hasn’t. We also have Demian Maia waiting at welterweight and Ronaldo Jacare [Souza] is waiting for even longer than that. It’s cool for me, I was a dominant champion for a long time, but what about Jacare’s situation? He’s always winning and doesn’t get his title shot. They tell him he’ll fight for the title and he never does. And it seems he never will. It’s a mess…I knew I would be the champion and he knows what happened to me in that fight will never happen again. It was known I would be champion again so I don’t have a problem with the way it happened. I’ve always said that having the belt around my waist is all that matters. No matter what, I’m the champion. I don’t care about what his coach says. Who is his coach anyway? I don’t know who he is. Or him. They’re all pieces of shit.

De la Hoya says the only boxing fight that makes sense to him is McGregor vs. Alvarez.

If Conor is serious about fighting? First of all, I would love to talk to him and promote him. I mean, imagine Conor McGregor and Golden Boy coming together! But the only fight I would like to see, and this is the one that makes the most sense – as it would be the most exciting and would be a guaranteed knockout – is against Canelo Alvarez. And they’re in the same weight class. So it makes all the sense in the world. Imagine. 154. 160. It would be at 160 actually.

On Conan, Rousey responds to Nunes prediction that Nunes would beat her in the first round.

Well she kind of has to say that because everyone knows she gasses out in the second so she has to tell herself that,” Rousey said. “What else is she going to tell herself? She has to sleep at night somehow.

Pettis says that Holloway is even less than a match for him than McGregor.

I see Max as a younger version of myself; raw, natural talent and he definitely wants it bad. But I got the skill set to beat the guy with the striking and I got the power and size on him. The only other striker he fought of my caliber is Conor McGregor, and you saw how that went down. I feel like I have way more tools than Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor has a big left hand and some decent kicks. I have submissions, wrestling, I have everything; I’m the complete package. Now I have the size, so it’s a great weight class for me.

I was at dinner in New York for 205, and we bumped into each other…When we were leaving he said to me, ‘When’s your boy going to fight Floyd?” and I said “My boy? Who are you talking about, Conor? Floyd doesn’t want to fight Conor.’ And he said, ‘He does. He’s dead serious about it.’ And I said, ‘I don’t know man. Call Floyd and see what’s going on’. So that’s how the whole thing got started up again…Look how long it took [Mayweather-Pacquiao] to get that done and they’re both in the same sport. I highly doubt this fight will ever happen.

Holloway, who took McGregor to the distance in his second UFC fight, says ‘the real fans’ say he’s the real fight to make against McGregor.

Conor McGregor couldn’t finish me in a thousand years..and the hard core fans of the sport they know what the real fight is for Conor. It’s me, but first things first. He’s going to become a dad, so congrats for that. I got some business on December 10, with Anthony Pettis. I got to get through that guy first.

Holloway says the real fans know he's the real fight to make with McGregor | @TheBuzzer | UFC ON FOX

Yeah. It is exciting. Obviously, the return of Ronda is a big deal. She is taken this thing so seriously. Guess what she is weighing right now? 135 lbs. She is doing everything she can to keep her weight on. She is in sick shape.

I call it ‘two-week-itis.’ That’s when I’m the most emotional. My body is the most broken down. I will literally cry over spilled milk on ‘two-week- itis’ time. But by the time I’m actually waking out, I’m tired of being nervous and I’m just not nervous anymore. I just know what I need to do.

UFC President White says McGregor gave up his featherweight belt, and will not fight for ten months.

I didn’t strip him of anything. I said every day leading up to that fight that he had to give up one of those belts. He gave up the 145-pound title, but it doesn’t take away from — He says that he’s still a two-weight champion. Damn right he is. He is a two-weight champion. It doesn’t take away from what that guy accomplished and what he’s done. When you look at the 145-pound title, he didn’t lose it. He gave it up. He was never beaten, and the belt was never taken from him…That (featherweight) belt hadn’t been defended in almost a year, and Conor’s taking another ten months off for maternity. It’s not fair to the rest of the guys in that division. You can’t tie up the entire division, but I did let him fight for it. I let him do it.

I try not to call myself famous or think about it too much, because I’m scared of it. I’m really scared to lose my reference on reality. If you are socially unhealthy then you’ll be mentally unhealthy, so I’m trying to remain socially healthy so I don’t lose my reference on what’s real. It’s a human sport, there’s an instinct in every person on this planet to fight, at any age. Everyone has a reason to fight. You have to have the personality to fight, and you can’t learn personality, you just have it. Fighters are born, and I was a born fighter.

Trump announces that SoftBank’s CEO, Masayoshi Son, has agreed to invest $50 billion in U.S. which will create 50,000 new jobs. Son says the money would be invested in startups in the U.S. He and will come from a $100 billion investment fund he set up with Saudi Arabia. Trump:

This is Masa of Softbank from Japan, and he’s just agreed to invest $50 billion in the United States and 50,000 jobs. And he’s one of the great men of industry. He’s one of the truly great men.

The plane is totally out of control. It’s going to be over $4 billion for Air Force One program and I think it’s ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money.

Boeing says the current Air Force One program is worth $170 million.

We look forward to working with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the president at the best value for the American taxpayer,

White says that, despite no longer having the title and Jose Aldo currently holding the title, McGregor is still the man to beat at 145lb.

I didn’t strip him of anything you know what I mean? I said everyday leading up to that fight at UFC 205, that McGregor had to give up one of the belts if he won the lightweight title in New York but that doesn’t take away from anything. He says he is still a two-weight world champion and he’s damn right he is. He is a two-weight world champion. It doesn’t take away from anything that he achieved and when it comes to the featherweight title, he didn’t lose it, he is the man at 145-pounds.

Just landed in the suite with the two world titles. The champ champ. Thank you so much JetSmarter for such a hassle free service for getting me and my friends here to this location. Flying the only way we know how… and to anyone else who can’t fly private, I’d like to take this chance to apologise to…. absolutely nobody.

Chris Suprun, a Republican elector from Texas, says he will not cast one of Texas’ 38 electoral votes for Trump. This despite Trump winning the state by nine percent, and Suprun having signed a pledge to vote for the winner.

I’m expecting backlash, but that has been par for the course this campaign. People are unhappy. They’re angry. But I’m angry, too. I was told if we elected Donald Trump he would transform his personality into being presidential. He isn’t,” Suprun said. “I wanted him to be presidential, but since the election he hasn’t grown into our institution, he’s attacked them. I am here to elect a president, not a king. I am not sure of who I will vote for, but would have to strongly consider someone like (Ohio Gov. John) Kasich who has both executive and legislative experience bringing people together.

Despite his loss to McGregor in 2013, Holloway says he bears no grudge against the Irishman.

Everybody hates on this guy. For what? If you had this opportunity, you know damn straight that you’d take it. If I had the opportunity, yes, it’s history. I want to break history. Conor McGregor set this bar and I’m trying to break it. If you’re not trying to break it, then why are you in the game?…Conor’s special, you can’t hate on the guy. If everyone could do it, then everyone would be doing it. It took him, you don’t understand, you have to find your niche. I’m finding mine. I’m me. I have to be the real Max Holloway, this is the real guy sitting right in front of you guys. Real, honest, what you see is what you get. If you like it great, if you don’t like it, great, at the end of the day you buy the pay-per-view and I’m getting money and that’s it, thank you.

Conway says that if the race had been for the popular vote, the Trump campaign would have won that as well.

The idea that we’re going to talk about the popular vote answers your questions about sore losers. The idea that Donald Trump doesn’t have a mandate after he got 100 more electoral votes than Mitt Romney did, he got 306, it wasn’t close. He won states that had not gone Republican in decades. Had this been a race for the popular vote, we would have won that, too. Mr. Trump would have campaigned in California, in New York, stayed in Florida, gone to Illinois perhaps. These population rich states. We did what you are supposed to do to become president…The idea he doesn’t have a mandate when they lost the White House, 60 seats in the house, over a dozen Senate seats, over a dozen governorships and over 1,000 state legislative seats, this is Democratic Party is having an identity crisis and a circular firing squad. What I heard is, it’s Bernie Sander’s fault, James Comey’s fault anybody but Hillary Clinton’s fault.

In a series of Tweets, Trump warns companies that they will face new taxes if they leave the USA.

The U.S. is going to substantialy reduce taxes and regulations on businesses, but any business that leaves our country for another country, fires its employees, builds a new factory or plant in the other country, and then thinks it will sell its product back into the U.S. without retribution or consequence, is WRONG! There will be a tax on our soon to be strong border of 35% for these companies ..wanting to sell their product, cars, A.C. units etc., back across the border. This tax will make leaving financially difficult, but these companies are able to move between all 50 states, with no tax or tariff being charged. Please be forewarned prior to making a very expensive mistake! THE UNITED STATES IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Trump’s team say he has spoken directly with Taiwan’s President Tsai – breaking with US policy set in 1979 when formal relations were cut. The president-elect congratulated Tsai on her recent election win. They also noted the “close economic, political, and security ties” between the US and Taiwan.

I’ve no doubt Michael, you’re a solid, solid boxer. You are skilled boxers down here [Belfast]. You’ve got good backing, and the sky’s the limit for you and I look forward to following your career. The sky is the limit, you just have to stay focused. I don’t have to tell you to train hard. You’re hard worker and a successful amateur boxer and you’re climbing into the pro ranks. I don’t have to sit here and say ‘hey kid, hit the bag three times a week.’ You go in and you be yourself, get that win, and then there’s no stopping you. So you just keep your head down, stay working, take no prisoners in there. I just have to tell you to go out and be yourself, take no shit. That’s the main thing, take no prisoners. Let the whole division you’re in know what you’re coming to do, then go out and follow what you’ve said, go and do it, and the rest falls into place.

During the interview at Devenish nightclub McGregor talks about Mayweather:

If I focus with the work ethic I have solely on the sport of boxing, there’s no telling what I could do. I would not go in there just to show up, I’d go in there to knock [Floyd] out. That’s it. He can be hit, he’s been hit before. Age waits for no man also, so I know they know that. I know the size is on my side, I know the reach is on my side, I know the youth is on my side. There’s a lot to lose for them, so that’s why their scrambling… But that’s okay, I’ll leave them scrambling. I’ve got some other boxing opportunities and potential opponents in mind. Some previous Floyd opponents. They can bring in anyone in the game. We’ll see what happens.

White says that, despite getting a boxing license, McGregor is still under contract to UFC.

I have no idea what Conor is doing. Conor’s Conor. He does his thing. But he’s under contract to me. Who knows with this guy? Who knows what he is up to. I just let Conor be Conor. And the other thing is, it’s fun to talk about this fight and what might happen, but what commission would let that fight happen? Really, think about that.

He’s almost like sticking the fingers up to the UFC. He can say ‘I can do what I want’. I like him. Fair play to him. We don’t know [if he’s the real deal in boxing] yet. Give him a year or so and who knows? He comes from a boxing background…He can obviously punch very hard…I would love to [work out with him]. He’s someone I admire a lot.

I don’t know if it’s a punk thing. If it’s something he’s doing, y’know [trying to] show the UFC that he’s the boss. He just ‘relinquished’ his featherweight title, which I don’t think he wanted two belts just to give one up. But, I don’t know what his motives are. For the fans and people who are thinking that this is a bluff, it’s not really a bluff. If Conor decided that ‘I wanna walk and take this $100 million fight with Floyd Mayweather’, no-one, including myself could knock him for doing that. Or [saying] ‘ah, he’s scared to fight’. That’s not really anything…I think [A fight with Mayweather] can be way more interesting than people realise. I can’t just see Floyd Mayweather going out there and just knocking Conor out in the first couple rounds. Conor McGregor, man, he does have some really good timing. If you watch him in his fights, and slow it down a few times. He’s slipping inside, outside. That four piece he hit Eddie Alvarez with, that was one of the slickest combinations I’ve seen in a very long time.

White says McGregor decided to give up the featherweight title of his own volition before Aldo was named the division’s undisputed champion.

Look, I let Conor fight [Nate] Diaz and then I let him fight Diaz again. Then there was the whole 155-pound thing I let him do. But at the end of the day, him doing that tied up the division for a year. There’s a logjam there and a lot of guys were [angry]…I wanted Aldo to fight Holloway for the belt, but he needed more time. So I looked at it and I said, Well, it makes sense to make Aldo the champion and then have Holloway and Pettis fight for the interim title, and when Jose’s ready, barring any crazy injuries, the winner can fight him.

Former two-weight world boxing champion Malignaggi calls out McGregor.

At first I was telling Conor to stay in his lane and I was thinking ‘you know what, you are going to embarrass yourself’ but if you are really going to disrespect the sport of boxing like that then I would like to be the one to teach you that lesson. I would never disrespect your sport and tell everybody ‘you know what, I could beat the best fighter in the cage’. You shouldn’t come to our sport and tell everybody you could beat the best fighter in our sport in a ring. I know you apologised about absolutely nothing last fight but after I am done with you – I am going to knock the beard off you homie – you are going to be apologising for everything you have been trying to do to get into boxing

Coach Kavanagh says McGregor was holding his hands behind his back during his UFC 205 fight with Alvarez due to an injury. He says McGregor’s right index knuckle was hurt during his UFC 202 fight with Nate Diaz, and that was his way of protecting it in training, and also has the added advantage of fooling his opponent into trying to hit his head.

He found that if he actually held his right hand behind his back, it kind of reminded him not to throw it as much. That’s why he started reaching back and actually grabbing his hand. It was almost like a mental note: take care of the right hand…If you put your hands down, an untrained person will try to swing at your head. It’s a base instinct — I want to punch the guy in the head. If you have a very high level of striking, boxing like Conor does, you understand rules like that. I don’t think others are kind of catching up to that level of skill.

Executive Director Bennett says the Nevada Athletic Commission denied an application by McGregor for a licence to box in Nevada. This is due in part to outstanding issues with the state: McGregor has not paid a $75,000 fine for the August bottle-throwing incident during a news conference at the MGM Grand. He must also produce an anti-bullying video. He is currently appealing the fine. Bennett also says that he would have to watch McGregor in a sparring session – either on video or in person – before making a determination if he’s qualified to receive a license to box. Bennett:

Mr. McGregor is an incredibly gifted fighter and athlete. He obviously knows what he’s doing as a fighter and I have the utmost respect for his abilities. But it is a different sport.

He got a boxing license. Congratulations to him. Conor McGregor can say anything he wants to, but he has a boss, and his name is Dana White. He is under contract to the UFC, and if he wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match he can’t because his bosses wouldn’t allow that to happen. They would never — and put this in bold caps — let him step into a boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather, because everyone knows what the outcome would be. He would get his ass beat from pillar to post…. I respect all fighters who step in a ring or the Octagon, but Floyd is in the Bahamas enjoying life. He’s not thinking about Conor McGregor or anyone else…What McGregor is attempting to do is take a page out of Floyd’s book from the marketing and promotional side by using his name. The quickest way to become famous is to align yourself with another famous person, and he’s done a good job of that.

At a conference call announcing the newly launched MMA Athletes Association (MMAAA) St-Pierre says McGregor, despite being the sport’s highest-paid star, is still underpaid, and appeals to the Irishman for his support.

Even though Conor is the most well (paid) athlete, he doesn’t have his fair share of what he should have. And I’m saying this from the top contestant to Conor McGregor, they don’t have their fair share…There’s something I think about Conor McGregor; I’ve met Conor a couple of times. You have the Conor McGregor that’s a human being and the Conor McGregor of business. The one you see in the UFC is the Conor McGregor that’s business. But the Conor McGregor that’s a human being, I know for sure he knows what’s right. Nobody is a perfect human being, but Conor is not a coward. He knows what’s right, and everybody knows what we’re doing is right. So, of course, we would like to have the biggest name in the sport on board, and we need it.

On The MMA Hour Helwani criticises the UFC’s handling of the removal of McGregor’s belt.

They botched it. They botched it epically. They botched it because if you’re going to go ahead and strip Conor, then Holloway /Pettis needs to be for the real belt, and you say to Jose Aldo that you’re getting the first crack at the champion of this interim title, you’ve been talking about retirement, you’ve been talking about not fighting again, you’ve been talking about throwing fights, we don’t know the state of your career is, so we’re making Holloway/Pettis the real championship fight, because we just stripped the biggest draw and the biggest star of his belt. It’s a disservice to Holloway and Pettis, who are going to have an amazing fight in a couple of weeks, it’s a disservice to Jose Aldo, and it’s a disservice to Conor McGregor.

Don’t get me wrong, Conor McGregor is good. He’s got awesome, amazing stand-up, but you know what it’s going to take to beat Conor McGregor? It’s going to take someone with a chin who is not scared to fight that man. You got a chin and you’re not scared to fight him – you are going to whoop his ass. He has no heart, we seen that in the Diaz fight – first time he gets a hand around his neck, he tapped in four seconds…You get him down and you put him in a bad position – you are going to see that man fold…He has no ground game and what ground game he does have, it’s limited. And about that much [pinches his fingers] heart, that’s all he’s got. A man who is going to tap in about three and half seconds to a choke, didn’t even try to pull the arm down, didn’t even try to fight the choke – that’s not a true champion to me.

I honestly think that if the Jose [Aldo] fight happened again, Jose can beat him. Jose Aldo let the man get inside his head and got him all riled up before the fight. He ran in there, did some stupid stuff and got caught…I pray that you put him in there with Tony Ferguson, because Tony Ferguson is going to treat him look like a punk.

UFC featherweight Jason "The Kid" Knight says Conor McGregor has no heart and wouldn't stand a chance against a fighter like Tony Ferguson pic.twitter.com/dVw7GBhdYq

McMann says she wants a rematch with Rousey even if it is not for a title, saying she want to avenge her 2014 loss of the bantamweight champion in a 66-second TKO.

I can still fight Ronda even if it’s not for a championship. Avenging losses is personal for me. It’s not simply for a title. I would perfectly fine to win the title and then have them come after me and avenge my losses that way. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I don’t care about the particular order. If you are an athlete in the UFC, you probably shouldn’t care about what particular order you get either simply because that decision-making process is out of your control.

Cormier says he is not to blame for McGregor being stripped of his belt after his injury caused the UFC to elevate the co-main event between Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway into a UFC interim featherweight title fight.

Just think about how ridiculous that is, that it’s my fault Conor McGregor got stripped. I didn’t say ‘I’m not going to fight so he can lose his belt.’ It doesn’t matter to me.

Coach Kavanagh confirms McGregor and Mayweather are in talks for a potential boxing fight in 2017.

If the odds were good enough, I’d put a few quid on it for next year. I’m not breaking any news saying that there’s conversations going back and forth for the last year or so. Is it getting any close? I don’t know, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me that it’s going to happen. He’s 49-0. I’m sure he wants that 50th fight. It’s a nice number. Right now, ask the average guy on the street, who do you want to see Mayweather fight, what fight’s going to get the most interest, and it would be a superfight with Conor. Certainly stranger things have happened in combat sports than a Mayweather-Conor fight. I wouldn’t be surprised by it, so who knows? It’s one of the many options that are there for Conor, so let’s see how the next couple of weeks go.